Splendid news.
Wind power is getting cheaper due to greater familiarity with the technology and the benefits of mass production.

Nuclear OTOH is getting more expensive as it has never become widespread enough to become familiar, and each generation of new nukes is different and more costly and more complicated than before.

Wind is not the complete answer to our energy needs, but could play a larger part.
Wind generated electricity may one day become cheap enough to displace natural gas for heating, at times even if not full time._________________"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

I'm off for a visit to the Rampion Wind Farm off Brighton on Thursday. The boat trip out to sea might be cancelled though as the weather in the Channel this week doesn't look too hot! Shame._________________As Steve Keen puts it: “Capital without energy is a statue; labour without energy is a corpse.” Economics ignores this which is why economics is broken.

I seem to recall Dale Vince once claimed (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that turbines recouped their costs within six months of commissioning.

Even if that's miles out, there must be some established and well-constructed turbine fields that are virtually money for nothing._________________"Buddhists say we come back as animals and they refer to them as lesser beings. Well, animals aren’t lesser beings, they’re just like us. So I say fụck the Buddhists" - Bjork

I seem to recall Dale Vince once claimed (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that turbines recouped their costs within six months of commissioning.

Even if that's miles out, there must be some established and well-constructed turbine fields that are virtually money for nothing.

I do not think that financial payback is as quick as that, if it was there would be a lot more wind turbines.
I have however heard (but can not substantiate) that modern wind turbines DO achieve energy payback in about 6 months. That is that the electricity produced after about 6 months pays back the energy used in building the machinery.
Whilst it is often said that energy equals money, this is only an approximation and energy payback may be quicker than financial payback._________________"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"

There have been subsidies for wind. The story is that the subsidies are coming down. Until they go down to zero you won't see a that many more. Both PV and Wind are becoming more efficient.

There are subsidies for pretty much everything though. The 'problem' is that renewable energy subsidies are put onto energy bills in a sadly regressive and unpopular move._________________PowerSwitch on Facebook | The Oil Drum | Twitter | Blog

There was a report recently that said that subsidies to fossil fuels worldwide were in the region of $36 trillion.

The fossil fuel industry in this country is subsidized by tax breaks on North Sea production and on onshore exploration. It will be interesting to see what subsidies the government give to their friends in the fracking industry to make production profitable in this country. In the US fracking is a massive Ponzi scheme that hasn't made a profit to date._________________As Steve Keen puts it: “Capital without energy is a statue; labour without energy is a corpse.” Economics ignores this which is why economics is broken.

There was a report recently that said that subsidies to fossil fuels worldwide were in the region of $36 trillion.

The fossil fuel industry in this country is subsidized by tax breaks on North Sea production and on onshore exploration. It will be interesting to see what subsidies the government give to their friends in the fracking industry to make production profitable in this country. In the US fracking is a massive Ponzi scheme that hasn't made a profit to date.

Europe - you and I - generously gives €112 billion to these extractors of free resources, which includes over €2 billion annually for coal, the dirtiest form of power generation.

The total is not as much as we put in farmers' pockets but some cigar._________________"Buddhists say we come back as animals and they refer to them as lesser beings. Well, animals aren’t lesser beings, they’re just like us. So I say fụck the Buddhists" - Bjork